Turn2us Elizabeth Finn Fund

Providing direct grants for people who have a professional background and their dependants

The Elizabeth Finn Fund has been giving direct grants and support for over a century to people living in financial difficulty who have a professional background and meet our grant-giving criteria.

We give grants to people who hold or have formerly held occupations requiring a certain level of responsibility and education, or whose partners have done so. We can award grants to people from over 120 different professions whose work history includes employment in a role which requires a degree; NVQ level 4 or above; or equivalent.

The grants we give help make a difference to an individual or family’s life and improve their living conditions.

I was very emotional because I didn’t expect that kind of help. The grant allowed us to get back on our feet, pay off the critical priority bills and allowed me time to sort things out so we could have a peaceful existence.

Dougal - who was helped by Elizabeth Finn Fund

Turn2us Elizabeth Finn Fund Information

How we can help

Grants will be provided to meet specific needs that help to ensure financial stability, wellbeing and independence to enable the individual/family to maintain normal daily living.

We may be able to help with:

Grants towards disability equipment, aids and adaptions (these will need to be supported by an occupational therapist's assessment)

Grants for house repairs (this is for homeowners)

Grants to cover costs of a move to a more affordable home

Grants to help with transport, work or care costs

Grants to cover the costs of education or training where this will help you return to employment (we can’t help cover the cost of first or second full-time degrees).

Who can apply?

To be eligible for help from the Elizabeth Finn Fund, you must meet all of the following qualifying rules (eligibility criteria):

Have less than £4,000 (5,000 Euros) in savings

Be on a low income and in receipt of or have applied for the benefits you are entitled to

Have worked in one of our listed professions or have a partner (or a deceased partner) who has done so. In most cases these are positions where the job requires a degree, some level of responsibility or NVQ4 or above. We also help people who have run their own business with employed staff or have earned a living from the arts

Have British or Irish nationality or you live in the UK or Ireland for at least half of the year.

Please note, as part of the application process, we will ask you for a range of documents as evidence of your occupation and situation. This includes bank statements.

Please note: Where statutory funding is available to an individual, this source must have been taken up before a charitable grant is provided. However, if an individual has applied for welfare benefits and there is a delay in the award of the benefits, a grant can be awarded.

Exclusions

The Elizabeth Finn Fund does not give grants to help with:

Business start-up or business costs

Debt payments

Fines

Items/services which there is a statutory duty to provide

Legal fees

Loans

Private medical and dental treatment or insurance in the UK

Private school fees – Lloyd’s Support Fund excepted

Prescription glasses

University fees for first or second full-time degree students.

How do I apply?

The application process involves two stages:

Stage 1: We check that you meet our qualifying rules (eligibility criteria) for the fund

Stage 2: If you do, you will be invited to make a full application to the Elizabeth Finn Fund. We will now ask you provide full details about you, your spouse/partner (if you have one) and your situation. We will also request the evidence we require, including bank statements.

Please note: The Elizabeth Finn Fund receives a large number of enquiries which take some time to process. All enquiries do receive a reply, whether we can help or not, but we may take some time (several weeks) to process enquiries and respond.